


A Day in the Snow

by wyomingparmesan



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: APS Secret Santa 2020, Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Deserves Happiness, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, F/M, Friendship, Hot Chocolate, Plagg is a Little Shit (Miraculous Ladybug), Snow, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:54:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28283559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyomingparmesan/pseuds/wyomingparmesan
Summary: Adrien is excited to spend the day with his best friends out in the snow. It’s a day filled with chocolat chaud, presents, and best of all: happiness. Made as a gift for the APS Secret Santa!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	A Day in the Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zekroudon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zekroudon/gifts).



> Hello everyone! I am so excited to be posting this because it is super adorable, especially if you love seeing Adrien being happy. It’s a gift I made as part of the Secret Santa in the Adrien Protection Squad server! Enjoy!

Adrien’s fingers touched and grabbed at various pieces of clothing as he shuffled from hanger to hanger. The different textures danced along his fingertips as his eyes tried to fit them all together into an outfit in his mind.

  
“Come on, kid,” Plagg floated behind him, a piece of cheese in hand. “How hard can it possibly be to pick out clothes? They’ll just get dirty anyway.”

Adrien rolled his eyes at his kwami as he continued to look through his wardrobe. “You don’t understand, Plagg,” he let out an annoyed sigh as he threw a shirt over his shoulder. “This is the first time I’ve ever been allowed to go out with friends to enjoy the snow.” He turned around and put his hands on his hips. “I need to dress warmly while also being stylish.”

Plagg stuck the piece of cheese in his mouth as he laughed. “Just dress like you were going to school,” he flew up to him and tapped his forehead. “I doubt your friends will care how you look.”

Adrien turned back to his closet and stared at it. “I know, but I just want today to be amazing, ya know?”, his lips curved downwards into a little frown. “I’m meeting Marinette, Alya, and Nino in half an hour and I’m still not sure what to wear.”

Adrien’s clear distress was enough to make Plagg’s whiskers fall as he flew over to the wardrobe. “Well, I don’t know much about humans and their clothing, but maybe I can help,” he observed the various pieces of clothing before him. The boy’s closet was filled with so many different shirts and pairs of pants of various colors and styles. It made him wonder why he didn’t wear them more.

His eyes widened as he spotted one particular piece of clothing and he flew over to it. “What about this?”, he used his paws to pull on the sleeve, alerting Adrien of his choice. 

Adrien pulled out the hanger to examine the clothing Plagg had chosen. It was a mint green sweater made with incredibly soft material. The material was weaved into a zigzag pattern that went all the way down and the sleeves cuffed on the ends. “Why this one?”

Plagg shrugged. “I dunno, I thought maybe the light color would match your hair,” he smiled with satisfaction at the boy’s curious grin. “And you’re the son of a fashion designer, so I bet you’ll have no problem finding something to match with it.”

Adrien felt his lips curl into a soft smile as he petted his kwami under his chin. “Thanks, Plagg,” he eyed his clothes once again as he tapped his chin with a finger. “I think I may have an idea.” He looked at Plagg out of the corner of his eye. “May I have some privacy now, please?”

A flash of black could be seen as he flew to the door. “Don’t have to tell me twice,” he quickly phased through the door, leaving Adrien alone to pick out a full outfit.

* * *

It wasn’t long before Adrien emerged from his closet, sporting an outfit he was surprisingly satisfied with. Along with the green sweater Plagg had picked out, he had decided to pair it with a white peacoat and the blue scarf he got for his birthday. His pants were typical skinny jeans, but he traded his orange converse for a pair of brown snow boots instead. 

“Yep, you still look like a supermodel,” Plagg chuckled as he stuffed a piece of camembert in his cheek.

Adrien ran a hand through his hair. “I’d hope so,” he laughed. “Come on, they’re probably waiting for me.” He opened up his coat and Plagg quickly flew inside. As he made his way to the door, it was easy to tell that he had a spring in his step.

So much excitement ran through his body as he thought about how he would be seeing his friends soon. Finally, it would be outside of school for once. As he entered the foyer, he quickly waved goodbye to Nathalie and yelled out a goodbye to his father. 

This was a rare occasion where he had been allowed to go out without his bodyguard, as he and his friends wanted to walk around the city. Said bodyguard gave him an approving “hmph” before opening the door. 

Adrien immediately felt the chill blasting against his light skin. He pulled a pair of mint green gloves from his pocket and immediately slipped them on. The scenery outside was even more magnificent than what he had been able to see from his windows. The entire front courtyard was a mini winter wonderland. The many trees had snow that cascaded onto their bare branches. Icicles hung from the awning near the front door. 

“Adrien!!”, his attention was taken by his name being called out. He turned to see his friends standing just outside of the front gate. His face lit up so brightly that it could’ve melted away all the snow.

They waved their arms above their heads as they continued to call out to him. He waved back before beginning his descent down the driveway. Beneath his feet, he could feel the small patches of ice hitting against his boots. “Be careful, buddy!”, Nino called out to him. 

“I’m okay!”, Adrien said, stopping momentarily to turn around. Gorilla was still standing in the doorway, eyeing the boy. “Will you please tell Father to open the gates now?”

The man nodded before going inside. Adrien met his friends at the gate, peering through the bars. “You guys have no idea how excited I am,” his smile still shined brightly as he spoke. His eyes examined his friends’ outfits.

Marinette wore a pink jacket that had her signature floral symbol on the left hand pocket. It was completed with a long, white sweater that she wore on top of a pair of black tights and fluffy, pink boots to match. Alya and Nino’s attire was much more simple with the both of them wearing red and blue sweaters, respectively. 

“You look really nice, Marinette,” his face softened as she smiled awkwardly at his compliment. He furrowed his brows, unable to tell if the pinkness on her cheeks was actually from the cold. 

“T-Thanks, Adrien,” she stuck her hands deep into her pockets as her face heated up. She looked up at him, her eyes landing on the blue scarf he wore around his neck. “I like your scarf. it looks really soft.”

His mouth opened to speak, but was interrupted by the creaking sound of the gates opening. The trio stepped back as they were now reunited with their friend.

The first thing Nino did was run forward and pull his best friend into a warm hug. “Finally! I can be with my buddy,” he could nearly contain his excitement as they wrapped their arms around each other. “Dude, we’re gonna have so much fun.”

Adrien pulled back to look at him. “I can’t wait,” he released from the hug and stepped back to look at his friends. “So, what are we doing first?”

Alya giggled at the way he bounced up and down on his feet. “Slow down there a bit,” she motioned with her hands. “I was actually thinking we could check out this new little café everyone’s been talking about. I’ve heard they make some _amazing_ chocolat chaud.”

The blond boy’s face lit up, his rosy cheeks shining in the sunlight. “That sounds awesome,” he said. “Let’s go!” He began walking at a pace nearly too fast for his friends to keep up. 

“Hey! Wait up!”, Nino yelled out to him, causing him to stop. They ran up to where he was, breathing heavily as they tried to catch their breath. “You think you got a bit ahead of yourself there?”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry,” he gave them a small smile. “I’m just really excited, that’s all.”

“It’s okay, you gave us a bit of a head start anyway,” Nino gave him a light tap on the arm. He moved closer to Alya and linked arms with her. “Let’s go get out of this cold.”

Adrien let the couple walk in front of him as he joined next to Marinette. As they began to walk behind their friends, his eyes caught a small box hidden within her jacket. “What’s that?”, he spoke up and pointed a finger at her jacket. 

Her eyes widened and she quickly closed and zipped up her coat. “What’s what? Oh! That? It’s nothing, really,” she spoke so fast that he felt lucky he could make out her words. “I, um, it’s just where I keep my money.”

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, he gave her a small smile. “Seems like a safe place to keep it,” he said. “I just put mine in my pants.” He patted on his pocket. 

Marinette giggled before turning back to the front. The café wasn’t very far from the Agreste mansion, so their journey was short. It was located in a small plaza that was filled with many other shops and restaurants. 

Alya stopped in front of the building to read the sign. « Café Mignon: Confortable et Adorable, » she read it out loud. “Yep, this is the place.”

Nino squinted his eyes to look through the windows. “It _does_ look pretty cute,” he said, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend. “Let’s go, I’m freezing.”

The couple walked inside as their best friends followed closely behind them. The interior of the café certainly lived up to its name. It wasn’t nearly as “cutesy” as they expected, but it certainly gave off a cozy, calming vibe with all of its winter-themed furniture. 

“Ooh they even have a fireplace in here,” Marinette perked up as she stood on her tiptoes. 

Adrien took off his gloves and put them in his pocket. His eyes ventured around the small restaurant, taking in the warm scent of peppermint and chocolate. 

« Bonjour, bienvenue à Café Mignon, » they turned to see a waitress standing before them. “Table for four?”

“Yes, please,” Alya said with a nod. The waitress gestured for them to follow her and she led them to a booth in the back. Nino stood aside to let Alya slide in first, leaving Marinette and Adrien to sit across from them.

Adrien stood aside and gestured to Marinette. “After you,” he flashed her a smile. 

She could feel her cheeks burning at his gentlemanly gesture. “T-Thanks,” she said quietly before sitting down across from Alya. 

As they sat down, the waitress placed menus in front of them. “Today we are having a special on our chocolat chaud,” she said with a smile. “I know it tends to be pretty popular amongst the kids.”

Adrien smiled brightly upon hearing her words. “What kind can you get?”

“We have all kinds of amazing toppings,” she pointed to a spot on the menu. “Part of the special is that you can get as many as you like.”

The group looked down at their menus, eyes widening in excitement. “I’ll leave you guys to it,” the waitress gave them another smile before walking off. 

Adrien’s mind flooded over with possibilities as he read the list. There were so many toppings he had never even thought of before, including marshmallows, toffee, sea salt, chocolate chips, and crushed peppermint. 

“Hey, Adrien.”

He looked up to see Marinette gently placing a piece of hair behind her ear. “What do you want to get?”

“Gee, I dunno,” he said in an honest tone. “What are you getting?”

“I always get whipped cream and marshmallows,” her voice became sweet as she spoke. “It’s very sweet already, so I don’t want to overdo it.”

Adrien swore he could feel his mouth watering already. “That sounds amazing,” he said. “I might get the same as you.”

Her blush deepened as she gave him her signature awkward smile. “You don’t have to,” she turned to see Alya giving her an encouraging glare. “O-Only if you want.”

“Hey, you’re my friend,” he placed his hand on the table next to hers. “I trust you.”

Marinette forced herself to not climb underneath the table as she could already feel herself melting. “Ahh, okay,” she said plainly. “Sounds good.”

The waitress then returned with a basket of scones and some jam. “Here ya go, you get these with every order,” she sat it on the table before pulling a pad and pen out of her apron pocket. “So, what’ll it be, kids?”

“I’ll have a cup of chocolat chaud with whipped cream and peppermint,” Alya said before turning to Nino. 

“Same thing but with marshmallows and chocolate syrup,” he said. 

When Marinette went to speak, Adrien spoke up instead. “Same for us, but with whipped cream and marshmallows,” he noticed the smile on the waitress’s face. 

“So would you both like your own, or are you sharing?”, she said with a playful smirk. 

Unlike Marinette, Adrien was able to ignore the cheeky grins their best friends gave them. Marinette covered her face with her hands, feeling her face becoming as hot as their cups of hot cocoa. 

“Two please,” he said innocently. “Marinette is sweet, but she deserves her own.”

Marinette let out a small whine in embarrassment before taking her hands away from her face. Her gaze met Alya’s and she could tell that her best friend was trying very hard not to say anything. 

With a click, the waitress put her pen back in her apron. “Alright, it should be out soon,” she said before walking away. 

Although a bit oblivious to her current embarrassment, Adrien gave his friend a soft smile. She returned it with one of her own. 

“So, Adrien,” Alya said as she placed her arms on the table. “You think Marinette is sweet?”

Just like that, the pink tinge returned to Marinette’s cheeks as she mouthed a silent “why?!” to her best friend. 

Adrien sat back in his seat. “Of course I do,” he said sweetly. “She’s one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met.”

A small gasp escaped the aforementioned’s lips as she looked at him. “Y-You really think so?”, her voice was small as she spoke. 

“Absolutely,” he didn’t know why, but at that moment, he felt the urge to reach out and brush a loose lock of hair out of her face. She could feel her face heating up as he touched her skin. “You’re the best, Marinette.”

Without hesitation and full of panic, she turned away from him and began to rapidly pinch the skin on her wrist. As Alya and Nino looked on in surprise, Adrien gasped. She also seemed to be whispering something to herself, but his ears couldn’t make it out. 

Adrien could feel himself beginning to panic, so he took a deep breath and tried a more gentle approach. “Hey, are you okay?”, he looked down to meet her gaze. 

His voice snapped her out of whatever trance she was in and her head snapped up. “O-Oh, yeah, sorry,” her face was still as red as ever, but her warm smile made him breathe a sigh of relief. “I just...I um, thank you, Adrien.”

“You’re welcome, Marinette,” he gave her that slightly crooked, yet soft smile that was almost always accompanied by slightly arched eyebrows. He could see her starting to relax, which made him sit back in his seat. 

From across the table, Alya and Nino shook their heads at their friends, yet they never stopped smiling. 

Footsteps approached as their waitress came back with a tray filled with cups of hot chocolate. “Here ya go, kiddos,” she passed the cups off to their respective owners, watching in delight as their faces lit up. 

Adrien especially felt extremely happy with the warm dessert that was placed in front of him. The steam coated his skin, causing the sweet aroma of chocolate and peppermint to hit his nose. French hot chocolate was truly different from the kind he had always seen in American movies. It was thick, creamy, and rich enough to eat with a spoon. 

He couldn’t remember the last time he had had it. 

“What do you think, bud?”, Nino said to him, watching intently as his best friend glared at his cup. 

“It smells amazing,” he lifted up the cup to bring it up to his nose, taking a deeper whiff of the sweetness. He looked over to see Marinette dipping into hers with a spoon. She blew on it gently before sticking it into her mouth. 

Her eyes lit up as the hot, yet sweet, sensation tickled her lips and tongue. She looked over at Adrien, pointing to his cup. “You need to try it,” she licked some chocolate off of her lips. 

Marinette, along with Alya and Nino, watched him as he mimicked her. He picked up his spoon and dove it straight into his cup, coating it well with whipped cream and chocolate. He could hear her small giggle as he stuck it into his mouth. 

His eyes lit up in a similar fashion as the sweetness danced along his taste buds. It burned slightly, but was quickly overtaken when he stuffed more whipped cream in his mouth. 

“It’s good, right?”, Marinette asked him. She could feel Alya’s eyes on her as she spoke. 

The latter picked up her own cup and took a swig. “Aw, baby’s first hot cocoa with his friends,” she smiled intently at the small blush that arose onto his cheeks. She scooted in closer to Nino, who then gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

“It’s probably the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had,” he noticed Marinette’s hand on the table and gently placed his hand on top of hers. 

Marinette immediately felt her skin beginning to burn as his touch ignited a spark within her. If her face wasn’t on fire before, it certainly was now. 

With a smirk on his lips, he leaned in closer to her and said, “I guess one could say that you have good _taste_ ,” he began to feel rather proud of himself as the three of them laughed simultaneously. Marinette especially looked adorable as she placed her pink glove covered hands up to her cheeks.

“Good one, my dude,” Nino held up a hand to his best friend, who gave him a rather excited high five in return. 

Adrien sat back rather comfortably and took in the current atmosphere. It was rare that he could get out of the house for something other than school or a photoshoot, let alone hanging out with his best friends. He listened to their laughter and felt the warmth of their smiles as they engaged in random conversation. 

After enjoying their hot beverages and scones, the group of four found themselves in the middle of Place de Vosges. Despite being covered with snow, it was surprisingly filled with numerous people. There were groups of kids making snowmen and snow angels, couples sitting around the fountain, and even a few vendors were out selling hot foods and beverages. 

As they entered the park, Alya intertwined her arm with Nino’s as they turned around to face Marinette and Adrien. “Nino and I are going to walk around,” she looked up at him and gave his hat a poke. “You two have some fun.”

Marinette wanted to object and even opened her mouth to do so as she felt the tinges of nervousness entering her body, but she was quickly snatched out of her thoughts by Adrien grabbing her hand. 

“We’ll let those two have some alone time, yeah?”, he grinned at her, watching the snow gently fall onto her dark hair. 

She could feel her heart pounding within her chest, partially thankful that they were both wearing gloves this time as his hand gently gripped hers. “Y-Yeah, sounds good,” she said shyly. “Let’s go sit down over there.”

Her feet led them over to a bench near the fountain. As they sat down, the contents of her coat pocket felt as though they were weighing on her. She looked over to see that Adrien was admiring everything around him. The frigid cold around them made his cheeks turn the softest shade of pink. 

The gently falling snow laid itself onto his locks of golden hair, only to disappear quickly. From across the courtyard, she saw Alya give her a wink of encouragement. Feeling a shock go down her spine, she let herself take a deep breath before reaching into her coat pocket. “A-Adrien?”

Her soft voice caught his attention, breaking him out of his daze. “What is it, Marinette?”, he smiled at her warmly as he turned to face her. 

She bit her lip in anticipation as she pulled a small, red box from within her coat. “I, um, I have something for you,” she held it out to him using both of her hands. “I was going to wait until Christmas, but I wasn’t sure if we would be able to see each other then, so I figured why not now? Hehehe.”

A sudden fluttering in his chest appeared as he stared down at the box in her hands. “Oh wow,” he grabbed it from her hands, which he noticed were shaking a bit. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

Marinette placed her hands behind her back, feeling her cheeks fighting off the cold by warming themselves up. “It’s nothing, really,” she said nervously. “I l-love y-,” she stopped herself and gasped. “Um, I love making you presents.”

Adrien took the bow from the top of the box and set it aside before taking the lid off of the box. Once he took a peek inside, his eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Inside, there were two necklaces. One of them had the letter “A” and the other had the letter “M”, to which both were covered in rhinestones. “Wow, Marinette,” he looked into her eyes, giving her a sincere smile. “These are really cool.”

“I figured since we don’t get to see each other much outside of school,” she tried to avoid his gaze as she spoke. “That maybe y-you’d want something that reminds you of m-me.” She scooted closer and pointed to the necklaces in the box. “I can wear the ‘A’ and you can wear the ‘M’.”

He felt a few tears poking at the corners of his eyes as he looked down at the jewelry in his hands. “These are amazing,” he looked up to see her staring right into his eyes. “ _You’re_ amazing.”

Marinette’s breathing hitched as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her warm cheek. She put her hand on the spot where he kissed her, sharing the same crooked smile he had on his face. “T-Thank you, A-Adrien.”

“You’re welcome, Marinette,” he smiled at her before looking back down at the box in his hands. He began taking the necklaces out of the box and held one out to her. “Turn around.”

She turned her back towards him as he laid the necklace across her chest before quickly fastening it in the back. He handed her the other one before turning around and letting her do the same to him.

There they sat looking at each other as the new charms on their necks shone in the sunlight. Snow fell all around them, causing their hair to be slightly damp. It was as if they were caught in a trance for a mere moment as they sat there taking in each other’s presence. It wasn’t until they heard footsteps approaching that they snapped out of it. 

“You two having fun?”, Alya said as she flashed the two of them a friendly smile. 

“Yeah, look at what Marinette gave me,” Adrien proudly held up the “M” charm to his best friends. 

“Aww, that’s cute,” Alya gave Marinette a sly look. “Now you two will never be apart.”

Marinette laughed slightly. “That’s what I told him,” she said, looking at Adrien. He responded by giving her his signature soft look.

Nino pulled out his phone to look at the time. “Aw man, sorry to cut things short, dudes,” he said in a sad tone. “But my parents need me to babysit my little bro for a little while.”

Adrien looked up at his best friend, feeling a similar pain in his heart. “It’s okay, I...probably need to get home, anyway,” despite his sadness, he still managed to smile. “I had fun today.”

Marinette took a deep breath, finding some confidence in herself. “It makes me really happy to know that you had fun,” she stood up from the bench, watching as Adrien did the same. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a warm hug. “Thanks for being one of my best friends.”

The tears from earlier returned as he graciously embraced her. “And thank you for always being so good to me,” he sniffled a little as he spoke. 

They pulled away from their hug and looked into each other’s eyes. Adrien grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Despite their reluctance, the group began walking out of the park. “I know you live just right there,” he pointed to the bakery that stood at the end of the abbey. “Want me to drop you off first?”

Marinette shook her head. “Thanks, but I can make it back on my own,” she gave him a gentle smile. “I’d rather walk you home instead.”

Adrien laughed. “Okay, okay,” he grabbed his hand in hers as they continued to walk. Along the way, they exchanged goodbyes with Alya and Nino as the two headed back towards the latter’s home. 

Marinette and Adrien stopped in front of the large gate, looking at the huge mansion on the other side. They turned to face each other and she put a lock of hair behind her ear. “So, I guess I’ll see you at school next year?”, her voice was very soft as she spoke. 

“Likewise,” he said. “And we can always FaceTime, too.”

She bit her lip as she saw the gate opening out of the corner of her eye. “Sounds good,” she began to slowly back away. “I’ll call you later, then.”

He started walking towards the driveway that led to his home. “Catch ya later, Marinette,” he waved back at her. 

“Talk to ya later, Adrien!”, she waved as she continued to walk away. 

They exchanged another set of goodbyes before the gates closed in front of him. He watched her until she disappeared off into the distance. It was then that Plagg decided to pop out of his coat. 

“Wow, you two really are made for each other,” he flicked one of his whiskers. 

Adrien shook his head. “Plagg, I’ve told you, Marinette is just a…”, he furrowed his brows and tapped his chin. “She’s a...um…”

The kwami smiled in satisfaction. “Marinette is a what?”

“A person who is very kind, sweet, beautiful, amazing,” he began counting it out on his fingers. “Did I already say ‘beautiful’?”

Plagg could no longer contain his laughter. “Oh, kid,” he patted Adrien’s sweater with his paw. “You have got it bad.”

The blond shook his head. “Whatever,” he pushed the kwami back inside his coat as he began to walk towards his house. He figured that later on, he would ponder what Plagg had said. 

For now, though, he was filled to the brim with warmth and cheerfulness that his friends had given him that day. Their kindness had allowed him to embrace a season that had become rather depressing for him in the last year due to recent circumstances. 

Adrien couldn’t have wished for better friends. 

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas everyone!!


End file.
